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If they advance, A's to remove tarps for seats

If they advance, A's to remove tarps for seats

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OAKLAND -- The Oakland Coliseum has come alive in the American League Division Series, and the A's have spoken every night about how the raucous, loud crowds have helped them storm back to tie the series with the Detroit Tigers at 2.

If the A's win on Thursday night to advance to the AL Championship Series, it will get a lot louder.

Oakland announced that the team will remove the tarps that covered the seats on the third deck of the main grandstand for Games 1 and 2, opening up 11,698 new seats for a potential ALCS matchup against the Yankees or Orioles.

"We certainly need to get there first," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "We don't get ahead of ourselves. Boy, it's loud to begin with. I was having a tough time communicating with my coaches in the ninth inning [Wednesday night], it was so loud. And you put another 12,000 people, it will be deafening."

The Coliseum was sold out for Games 1 and 2, and based on those ticket sales and projections for a possible three or four games in the ALCS, the seats were opened and will be sold for $55 each should the A's advance. Total capacity for the ALCS and World Series will now be 47,505.

"This has been a sensational year for the Athletics and for our fans," team owner Lew Wolff said in a club statement. "We are thrilled with the tremendous outpouring of fan support."